Lincoln Lincs St Giles inside GeoUK 5009782

St Giles Church, Lincoln is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

parish church in

St Giles Saint Giles (, , , , ; 650 - 710), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 7th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly legendary. A ...

, a suburb of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. It was built in 1936 by William Watkins, on a similar plan to the demolished 18th-century St Peter at Arches Church, and reusing some of its materials. It is in a classical style, in brick with stone dressings, with a tower. On the interior, the font, altar rail, organ and organ-gallery stairs all date from the 18th century.

History

The parish was originally served by St Peter at Arches Church, designed by Smith of Warwick in the 18th century. This was demolished in 1930 and a replacement was built on a different site by William Watkins in 1936, using a similar plan to St Peter's but enlarged. Watkins re-used much of the material from St Peter's, giving rise to the new church's nickname, "the church that moved". St Giles was given a Grade II listing in 1953.

Description

The church is classical in style. The building material is 20th-century brick, with stone dressings, many from the original church, and copper roofs, also 18th century. The building has rusticated

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...

s in brick. The principal windows have arched tops with

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

and there are also several circular windows. The entrances to the main building have arched tops and keystones. The tower has an entrance on the east side, which is topped with a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

and flanked by

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s. The tower also has

string course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the ...

s, a clock and

louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

d apertures for the bells, and is surmounted by a cornice, topped with a balustrade with

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

s in the shape of urns. The interior has stone piers and arches with keystones. Some of the internal doors house pieces of 12th-century stonework. There is a wooden organ gallery across the east end, accessed by paired 18th-century stairs; the organ is 18th century. The west end of the north aisle has a 19th-century wooden screen. The

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

font is 18th century. The wrought-iron altar rail also dates from the 18th century, and there is a 19th-century wrought-iron pulpit. There is some 19th-century

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

Modern church

The church remains an active place of worship for the local area. It also undertakes outreach work in the wider community, which is among the most deprived neighbourhoods in the city, including regular sessions in a local supermarket, and the operation of a

food bank A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...

. In 2014 the churchyard saw the completion of a two-year long restoration project undertaken by local

young offenders Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...

through a

restorative justice Restorative justice is a community-based approach to justice that aims to repair the harm done to victims, offenders and communities. In doing so, restorative justice practitioners work to ensure that offenders take responsibility for their ac ...

scheme operated by

Lincolnshire County Council Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and No ...

and

Lincolnshire Police Lincolnshire Police is the territorial police force covering the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in the East Midlands of England. Despite the name, the force's area does not include North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire, which ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Giles Church, Lincoln

Churches in Lincoln, England